Above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,421 issued to Atherton et al, concerns a hydrocarbonaceous material which is contacted with particulate coal to cause the coal to adsorb a substantial portion of the basic nitrogen compounds contained in the hydrocarbonaceous material. This invention was developed to eliminate the pollutant NO.sub.x resultant from the burning of the petroleum or petroleum-derived liquids and the like in a combustion furnace (such as a public utility). It is recognized that these feed materials contain naphthalene, methylnaphthalene, phenathrene and pyrene. The patentees sole experiment teaches that an admixture of tetrahydroquinoline (THQ) was removed from the hydrocarbonaceous liquid 1-methylnaphthalene by contact with various Indiana and Kentucky coals. In Givens et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,299 a similar method is proposed whereby anthracite coal is treated with air, oxygen or an oxygen-enriched air to activate and form on the surface carboxyclic acid moiety complexing sites which enhance the removal of basic heterocyclic nitrogen compounds from a petroleum fuel feedstock. The patentees teach that alcohols, ethers and aromatic materials, including fused ring systems, with or without branch chains, can be employed as solvents or carriers during denitrogenation.
In 1973, U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,563 issued to Woodle for a process for converting a hydrocarbon catalytically without interference from components detrimental to the catalyst. The presence of aromatic hydrocarbons in the catalytic cracking of waxy paraffinic hydrocarbons is known as an interferant in catalytic cracking. In fact, the presence of the same will result in a higher temperature necessary in order to obtain the desired low pour point temperature of the resultant lubricating oil fraction. While the generic description of the patentees invention is applicable to catalytic, as well as non-catalytic reactions, the very purpose for removing the nefarious components is to preserve conversion without an increase in temperature as a result of catalyst deactivation. The solid absorbents contemplated include activated carbon. The solid sorbents sorb the troublesome compounds, such as aromatics, and are subsequently desorbed by the effluent downstream of the reaction zone. In Unger et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,768, a hydrogenation operation has contained therein a calcined coke particulate bed to eliminate coke precursors from the recycle stream. First, the hydrogenation effluent is cooled to a temperature of 350.degree. to 600.degree. F. before the coke precursors, which are characterized as being toluene and heptane insolubles, are precipitated from the liquid recycle.
In Isom et al, U.S. Pat. No. 1,683,193 oil is heated by repeated circulation at relatively high velocities to provide for uniform heating in a crude petroleum oil distillation system. A bed of finely divided adsorbent or filtering material is maintained within the body of the oil so that the circulating oil is repeatedly passed through the bed of material. A similar disclosure is also made in U.S. Pat. No. 1,807,242 issued to Isom.
The prior art above discussed fails to disclose the use of fine particulate activated carbon material to remove aromatic compounds and particularly multi-ring aromatic compounds from a gas oil feed material with a physical separation step contemplated prior to entry of the feed material to a thermal cracking zone.